Should Young People Be Taught About Politics?

Over the past week, the team at mySircles have been debating whether children of a young age should learn about politics in schools.

It is difficult to judge when children are mature enough to learn about such seemingly adult topics. For many, the teaching of politics to young children is seen as a way of taking away their childhood and replacing it with the worries and stresses of our country. In any case, they can’t vote until they’re 18, so what’s the point, right?

On the other hand, by most schools, politics is not made available as a subject choice until sixth form. However, by this time, children often feel daunted by the topic.

According to the Independent, “it has been estimated that only 36 per cent of people in the 18-24 year old category voted in the EU referendum.” This is a shocking statistic. But we must ask ourselves, why? Is it because of their lack of knowledge on the subject? Are we the ones to blame for not educating them from a young age?

With the topic of the recent result on everyone’s lips, now could be a perfect time to introduce the world of politics to our children. CBBC have done a great job in beginning to explain in plain terms about the EU referendum.

We’d love to hear your opinions on whether young children should be taught about politics!